Dillon Stephens on his way to 11th place in the first run. Photo Marcus Rietema

Vernon, BC, Canada- Vernon Dowhill organzer Mischo Erban surprised everyone when he put on his leathers at the end of the qualifying session and posted the days fastest qualifying time without even a single run in practice.

A strong field of 100 downhill skateboarders from all over North America turned out for a beautiful day of practice and qualifying. The event has been designated as the 2009 IGSA North American Championships. It marks the first time that a major IGSA event has been held in British Columbia.

Due to the large number of skateboarders and the requirement to open the road to traffic every 20 minutes, only one run of qualifying was completed on Saturday. The second qualifying run will take place on Sunday morning followed by elimination rounds in the afternoon.

Matt Rae fighting for traction sits in 34th after the first run. Photo Marcus Rietema

Andrew Chapman was only the 9th rider down the course and set the pace early with a time of 57.147. Skater after skater tried and failed to match his time to no avail. Finally the 84th skater to take a crack was reigning IGSA World Champion Scoot Smith. Scoot annihilated Chapman's time by nearly a full second with a time of 56.495. It looked like nobody could touch Scoot although Australian Adam Yates did turn in a time of 57.147 to move into second.

Scoot Smith preparing his board and stoked to be at Vernon. Photo Marcus Rietema

As the end of the qualifying session approached, event organizer Mischo Erban decided to put down his walkie talkie and suited up for a qualifying run. He lined up for his qualifying run without even taking a single practice run. It didn't seem to bother Erban as he uncorked the run of the day. He crossed the finish line with a time of 55.964. Everyone was blown away that he could lower Scoot's seemingly unbeatable time by a full half second. It was an amazing run and everyone was stoked to see Mischo put in such a great performance after working so hard.

Mischo put down his radio just long enough to put in the #1 qualifying run. Photo Marcus Rietema